Labradors and Ping Pong Tournaments – The Key to Office Happiness?

There are plenty of things that contribute to Office Happiness – Labradors and Ping Pong Tournaments are just a couple of them! No we haven’t lost the plot, we’ve just taken a look into a few things that can help transform your office mood from crappy to happy!

Monday mornings are pretty much the worst thing ever for those of us who don’t enjoy our jobs, and judging by the amount of candidates we speak to on a daily basis there are a LOT of people out there who aren’t feeling the love for their current roles. Retaining staff is one of the biggest challenges companies face right now, so if you aren’t bringing fun into the workplace you risk having your employee’s head turned by someone who does. Here are a few easy ways to inject some fun and happiness into the workplace:

Get a Breakout Room

It may seem like a ‘Digital Agency Cliché’ but you will be surprised just how much fun a breakout room can bring to your office! All you need is a small area with a couple of couches, maybe a ping pong table / dart board, perhaps a TV and a games console, and if your feeling really crazy a beer fridge (strictly for after work on a Friday obvs). Now this isn’t going to make people sack off work and start playing Fifa instead – but it creates a space for people to wind down on their breaks in a way that’s much more social than scrolling through Facebook alone at their desk. You can even start a company competition for darts / ping-pong or whatever you decide to include in there. Nothing kick starts motivation like a little competition after all.

Fill the office with tasty treats

Anyone who’s ever worked in an office knows one of the best parts of the day is when it’s someone’s birthday and they wheel out the Colin the Caterpillar cake (you know it’s true). So how good would it be if you offered the team a tasty treat every week?! Now I’m not suggesting you overload the team with a million calories each week (although I’m not NOT saying that either!), but you could offer fresh fruit for the team, have a few sweet bowls in the office, have pizza Tuesdays or Free Breakfast Fridays! It doesn’t cost the earth to do and it will definitely lift the mood in the office!

Get out of the office

Again not suggesting you tools down on a Monday morning but try and arrange some regular social events for the team, whether it’s the pub after work, attending the local football match together, going bowling or even a big company party! It helps people relax and most importantly bond between teams – which is really important for employee retention. Our colleagues can pretty much make or break the enjoyment of our job, so if you can help to build friendships through social events then it’s only going to help you! Just maybe don’t hit the pub on a school night! 😉

Make a playlist

According to a recent survey 77% of businesses say playing music in the workplace increases staff morale and creates a better atmosphere. The reason everyone doesn’t have the radio on? Probably the fact that most stations replay the same songs over and over and break them up with annoying adverts for car dealerships. Believe me I’m with you! That’s why you should make a company playlist on Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal – it means you can select a little of what everyone in the room likes with no adverts to endure!

Bring your dog to work

OK so I may be slightly biased towards this one because I’m pretty dog mad, but there are some really valid reasons to adopt a pet friendly culture or even just a dog friendly day in your office. Firstly it can improve work-life balance – people often worry about getting home in time to see their pets but if your dog is already with you then there’s no need to worry! Secondly it can help make your office more social – I’m way more likely to speak to someone as an excuse to pet their dog so it can help connect colleagues, which we know helps staff retention! Got a lot of stressed employees in the office? Well dogs can help reduce that (honest it’s in a study and everything) – if you walk out of a bad meeting into the path of a cute Labrador then it’s going to lift your mood (or is that just me?). Another benefit of bringing a dog into the office? Going for a walk (dog in tow) can boost creative thinking by as much as 60% compared to sitting! Sure it may not always be the most practical idea to fill the office with dogs and puppies, but those benefits aren’t to be sniffed at – pun intended 😉 !

Dress down

Not suggesting you attend your next client meeting in a tracksuit but there is something to be said for introducing a ‘dress down culture’ into your office. It can help employees relax more and is great to tie in with any social events taking place out of the office on the same day. Give it a try next Friday and see if it helps boost the mood in your office!

Got any examples of how your workplace makes office life more fun? Tweet us at @SearchabilityUK today!

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